Commentari biblici

Re 3:1-22.

THE EPISTLES TO SARDIS, PHILADELPHIA, AND LAODICEA.

1. Sardis--the ancient capital of Lydia, the kingdom of wealthy Croesus, on the river Pactolus. The address to this Church is full of rebuke. It does not seem to have been in vain; for MELITO, bishop of Sardis in the second century, was eminent for piety and learning. He visited Palestine to assure himself and his flock as to the Old Testament canon and wrote an epistle on the subject [EUSEBIUS Ecclesiastical History, 4.26]; he also wrote a commentary on the Apocalypse [EUSEBIUS, Ecclesiastical History, 4.26; JEROME, On Illustrious Men, 24].

he that hath the seven Spirits of God--that is, He who hath all the fulness of the Spirit

(Re 1:4; 4:5; 5:6,

with which compare

Zec 3:9; 4:10,

proving His Godhead). This attribute implies His infinite power by the Spirit to convict of sin and of a hollow profession.

and the seven stars--

(Re 1:16, 20).

His having the seven stars, or presiding ministers, flows, as a consequence, from His having the seven Spirits, or the fulness of the Holy Spirit. The human ministry is the fruit of Christ's sending down the gifts of the Spirit. Stars imply brilliancy and glory; the fulness of the Spirit, and the fulness of brilliant light in Him, form a designed contrast to the formality which He reproves.

name . . . livest . . . dead--

(1Ti 5:6; 2Ti 3:5; Tit 1:16;

compare

Eph 2:1, 5; 5:14).

"A name," that is, a reputation. Sardis was famed among the churches for spiritual vitality; yet the Heart-searcher, who seeth not as man seeth, pronounces her dead; how great searchings of heart should her case create among even the best of us! Laodicea deceived herself as to her true state

(Re 3:17),

but it is not written that she had a high name among the other churches, as Sardis had.

2. Be--Greek. "Become," what thou art not, "watchful," or "wakeful," literally, "waking."

the things which remain--Strengthen those thy remaining few graces, which, in thy spiritual deadly slumber, are not yet quite extinct [ALFORD]. "The things that remain" can hardly mean "the PERSONS that are not yet dead, but are ready to die"; for

Re 3:4

implies that the "few" faithful ones at Sardis were not "ready to die," but were full of life.

are--The two oldest manuscripts read, "were ready," literally, "were about to die," namely, at the time when you "strengthen" them. This implies that "thou art dead,"

Re 3:1,

is to be taken with limitation; for those must have some life who are told to strengthen the things that remain.

perfect--literally, "filled up in full complement"; Translate, "complete." Weighed in the balance of Him who requires living faith as the motive of works, and found wanting.

before God--Greek, "in the sight of God." The three oldest manuscripts, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic, read, "before (in the sight of) MY God"; Christ's judgment is God the Father's judgment. In the sight of men, Sardis had "a name of living": "so many and so great are the obligations of pastors, that he who would in reality fulfil even a third of them, would be esteemed holy by men, whereas, if content with that alone, he would be sure not to escape hell" [JUAN D'AVILA]. Note: in Sardis and Laodicea alone of the seven we read of no conflict with foes within or without the Church. Not that either had renounced the appearance of opposition to the world; but neither had the faithfulness to witness for God by word and example, so as to "torment them that dwelt on the earth"

(Re 11:10).

3. how thou hast received--

(Col 2:6; 1Th 4:1; 1Ti 6:20).

What Sardis is to "remember" is, not how joyfully she had received originally the Gospel message, but how the precious deposit was committed to her originally, so that she could not say, she had not "received and heard" it. The Greek is not aorist (as in

Re 2:4,

as to Ephesus, "Thou didst leave thy first love"), but "thou hast received" (perfect), and still hast the permanent deposit of doctrine committed to thee. The word "keep" (so the Greek is for English Version, "hold fast") which follows, accords with this sense. "Keep" or observe the commandment which thou hast received and didst hear.

heard--Greek aorist, "didst hear," namely, when the Gospel doctrine was committed to thee. TRENCH explains "how," with what demonstration of the Spirit and power from Christ's ambassadors the truth came to you, and how heartily and zealously you at first received it. Similarly BENGEL, "Regard to her former character (how it once stood) ought to guard Sardis against the future hour, whatsoever it shall be, proving fatal to her." But it is not likely that the Spirit repeats the same exhortation virtually to Sardis as to Ephesus.

If therefore--seeing thou art so warned, if, nevertheless, &c.

come on thee as a thief--in special judgment on thee as a Church, with the same stealthiness and as unexpectedly as shall be My visible second coming. As the thief gives no notice of his approach. Christ applies the language which in its fullest sense describes His second coming, to describe His coming in special judgments on churches and states (as Jerusalem,

Mt 24:4-28)

these special judgments being anticipatory earnests of that great last coming. "The last day is hidden from us, that every day may be observed by us" [AUGUSTINE]. Twice Christ in the days of His flesh spake the same words

(Mt 24:42, 43; Lu 12:39, 40);

and so deeply had His words been engraven on the minds of the apostles that they are often repeated in their writings

(Re 16:15; 1Th 5:2, 4, 6; 2Pe 3:10).

The Greek proverb was that "the feet of the avenging deities are shod with wool," expressing the noiseless approach of the divine judgments, and their possible nearness at the moment when they were supposed the farthest off [TRENCH].

4. The three oldest manuscripts prefix "but," or "nevertheless" (notwithstanding thy spiritual deadness), and omit "even."

names--persons named in the book of life

(Re 3:5)

known by name by the Lord as His own. These had the reality corresponding to their name; not a mere name among men as living, while really dead

(Re 3:1).

The gracious Lord does not overlook any exceptional cases of real saints in the midst of unreal professors.

not defiled their garments--namely, the garments of their Christian profession, of which baptism is the initiatory seal, whence the candidates for baptism used in the ancient Church to be arrayed in white. Compare also

Eph 5:27,

as to the spotlessness of the Church when she shall be presented to Christ; and

Re 19:8,

as to the "fine linen, clean and white, the righteousness of the saints," in which it shall be granted to her to be arrayed; and "the wedding garment." Meanwhile she is not to sully her Christian profession with any defilement of flesh or spirit, but to "keep her garments." For no defilement shall enter the heavenly city. Not that any keep themselves here wholly free from defilement; but, as compared with hollow professors, the godly keep themselves unspotted from the world; and when they do contract it, they wash it away, so as to have their "robes white in the blood of the Lamb"

(Re 7:14).

The Greek is not "to stain" (Greek, "miainein"), but to "defile," or besmear (Greek, "molunein"),

So 5:3.

they shall walk with me in white--The promised reward accords with the character of those to be rewarded: keeping their garments undefiled and white through the blood of the Lamb now, they shall walk with Him in while hereafter. On "with me," compare the very same words,

Lu 23:43; Joh 17:24.

"Walk" implies spiritual life, for only the living walk; also liberty, for it is only the free who walk at large. The grace and dignity of flowing long garments is seen to best advantage when the person "walks": so the graces of the saint's manifested character shall appear fully when he shall serve the Lord perfectly hereafter

(Re 22:3).

they are worthy--with the worthiness (not their own, but that) which Christ has put on them

(Re 7:14).

Eze 16:14,

"perfect through MY comeliness which I had put upon thee." Grace is glory in the bud. "The worthiness here denotes a congruity between the saint's state of grace on earth, and that of glory, which the Lord has appointed for them, about to be estimated by the law itself of grace" [VITRINGA]. Contrast

Ac 13:46.

5. white--not a dull white, but glittering, dazzling white [GROTIUS]. Compare

Mt 13:43.

The body transfigured into the likeness of Christ's body, and emitting beams of light reflected from Him, is probably the "white raiment" promised here.

the same--Greek, "THIS man"; he and he alone. So one oldest manuscript reads. But two oldest manuscripts, and most of the ancient versions, "shall THUS be clothed," &c.

raiment--Greek, "garments." "He that overcometh" shall receive the same reward as they who "have not defiled their garments"

(Re 3:4);

therefore the two are identical.

I will not--Greek, "I will not by any means."

blot out . . . name out of . . . book of life--of the heavenly city. A register was kept in ancient cities of their citizens: the names of the dead were of course erased. So those who have a name that they live and are dead

(Re 3:1),

are blotted out of God's roll of the heavenly citizens and heirs of eternal life; not that in God's electing decree they ever were in His book of life. But, according to human conceptions, those who had a high name for piety would be supposed to be in it, and were, in respect to privileges, actually among those in the way of salvation; but these privileges, and the fact that they once might have been saved, shall be of no avail to them. As to the book of life, compare

Re 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27; Ex 32:32; Ps 69:28; Da 12:1.

In the sense of the "call," many are enrolled among the called to salvation, who shall not be found among the chosen at last. The pale of salvation is wider than that of election. Election is fixed. Salvation is open to all and is pending (humanly speaking) in the case of those mentioned here. But

Re 20:15; 21:27,

exhibit the book of the elect alone in the narrower sense, after the erasure of the others.

before . . . before--Greek, "in the presence of." Compare the same promise of Christ's confessing before His Father those who confessed Him,

Mt 10:32, 33; Lu 12:8, 9.

He omits "in heaven" after "My Father," because there is, now that He is in heaven, no contrast between the Father in heaven and the Son on earth. He now sets His seal from heaven upon many of His words uttered on earth [TRENCH]. An undesigned coincidence, proving that these epistles are, as they profess, in their words, as well as substance, Christ's own addresses; not even tinged with the color of John's style, such as it appears in his Gospel and Epistles. The coincidence is mainly with the three other Gospels, and not with John's, which makes the coincidence more markedly undesigned. So also the clause, "He that hath an ear, let him hear," is not repeated from John's Gospel, but from the Lord's own words in the three synoptic Gospels

(Mt 11:15; 13:9; Mr 4:9, 23; 7:16; Lu 8:8; 14:35).

6. (See on

Re 2:7.)

7. Philadelphia--in Lydia, twenty-eight miles southeast of Sardis, built by Attalus Philadelphus, king of Pergamos, who died A.D. 138. It was nearly destroyed by an earthquake in the reign of Tiberius [TACITUS, Annals, 2.47]. The connection of this Church with Jews there causes the address to it to have an Old Testament coloring in the images employed. It and Smyrna alone of the seven receive unmixed praise.

he that is holy--as in the Old Testament, "the Holy One of Israel." Thus Jesus and the God of the Old Testament are one. None but God is absolutely holy (Greek, "hagios," separate from evil and perfectly hating it). In contrast to "the synagogue of Satan"

(Re 3:9).

true--Greek, "alethinos": "VERY God," as distinguished from the false gods and from all those who say that they are what they are not

(Re 3:9):

real, genuine. Furthermore, He perfectly realizes all that is involved in the names, GOD, Light

(Joh 1:9; 1Jo 2:8),

Bread

(Joh 6:32),

the Vine

(Joh 15:1);

as distinguished from all typical, partial, and imperfect realizations of the idea. His nature answers to His name

(Joh 17:3; 1Th 1:9).

The Greek, "alethes," on the other hand, is "truth-speaking," "truth-loving"

(Joh 3:33; Tit 1:2).

he that hath the key of David--the antitype of Eliakim, to whom the "key," the emblem of authority "over the house of David," was transferred from Shebna, who was removed from the office of chamberlain or treasurer, as unworthy of it. Christ, the Heir of the throne of David, shall supplant all the less worthy stewards who have abused their trust in God's spiritual house, and "shall reign over the house of Jacob," literal and spiritual

(Lu 1:32, 33),

"for ever," "as a Son over His own house"

(Heb 3:2-6).

It rests with Christ to open or shut the heavenly palace, deciding who is, and who is not, to be admitted: as He also opens, or shuts, the prison, having the keys of hell (the grave) and death

(Re 1:18).

The power of the keys was given to Peter and the other apostles, only when, and in so far as, Christ made him and them infallible. Whatever degrees of this power may have been committed to ministers, the supreme power belongs to Christ alone. Thus Peter rightly opened the Gospel door to the Gentiles

(Ac 10:1-48; 11:17, 18;

especially

Ac 14:27,

end). But he wrongly tried to shut the door in part again

(Ga 2:11-18).

Eliakim had "the key of the house of David laid upon his shoulder": Christ, as the antitypical David, Himself has the key of the supreme "government upon His shoulder." His attribute here, as in the former addresses, accords with His promise. Though "the synagogue of Satan," false "Jews"

(Re 3:9)

try to "shut" the "door" which I "set open before thee"; "no man can shut it"

(Re 3:8).

shutteth--So Vulgate and Syriac Versions read. But the four oldest manuscripts read, "shall shut"; so Coptic Version and ORIGEN.

and no man openeth--Two oldest manuscripts, B, Aleph, Coptic Version, and ORIGEN read, "shall open." Two oldest manuscripts, A, C, and Vulgate Version support English Version reading.

8. I have set--Greek, "given": it is My gracious gift to thee.

open door--for evangelization; a door of spiritual usefulness. The opening of a door by Him to the Philadelphian Church accords with the previous assignation to Him of "the key of David."

and--The three oldest manuscripts, A, B, C, and ORIGEN read, "which no man can shut."

for--"because."

a little--This gives the idea that Christ says, He sets before Philadelphia an open door because she has some little strength; whereas the sense rather is, He does so because she has "but little strength": being consciously weak herself, she is the fitter object for God's power to rest on [so AQUINAS], that so the Lord Christ may have all the glory.

and hast kept--and so, the littleness of thy strength becoming the source of Almighty power to thee, as leading thee to rest wholly on My great power, thou hast kept My word. GROTIUS makes "little strength" to mean that she had a Church small in numbers and external resources: "a little flock poor in worldly goods, and of small account in the eyes of men" [TRENCH]. So ALFORD. I prefer the view given above. The Greek verbs are in the aorist tense: "Thou didst keep . . . didst not deny My name": alluding to some particular occasion when her faithfulness was put to the test.